


Xenoglossy

by Naughty_Yorick



Series: The Alphabet Game [25]
Category: The Witcher (TV), Wiedźmin | The Witcher - All Media Types
Genre: Elder Speech, Language, M/M, implied non-human jaskier
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-17
Updated: 2020-11-17
Packaged: 2021-03-10 03:02:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 433
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27606682
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Naughty_Yorick/pseuds/Naughty_Yorick
Summary: Two days after the incident at Dol Blathanna, the edge of the world, Geralt turns to Jaskier and asks him how he knows Elder.Jaskier knows Elder. Geralt can't work out how - and when he asks, Jaskier's replies are always flighty and vague. How is it that the bard can speak the language of the elves?
Relationships: Geralt z Rivii | Geralt of Rivia/Jaskier | Dandelion
Series: The Alphabet Game [25]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1983026
Comments: 18
Kudos: 339





	Xenoglossy

**Author's Note:**

> I challenged myself to write a fic for every letter of the alphabet. I took each letter, plugged it into a random word generator and wrote a fic based on whichever word it gave me. This letter is "X", and the word is "xenoglossy", which means someone being able to speak a language they shouldn't, usually by supernatural means. See more of my Alphabet Challenge on my tumblr, [here!](https://a-kind-of-merry-war.tumblr.com/post/632799468062916608/alphabet-game-master-post)

Two days after the incident at Dol Blathanna, the edge of the world, Geralt turns to Jaskier and asks him how he knows Elder.

Jaskier shrugs. “Oh, I just picked it up somewhere,” he says, and for once that’s all the explanation he’s giving. Geralt senses there’s more to this - no one just _picks up_ Elder speech - but the night is dark and the human is still dogging his footsteps and there’s more important things to worry about right now.

It happens a few times. They do meet elves, on occasion, and _when_ they do the Elder tumbles from Jaskier’s tongue like he was born to it. The elves don’t seem to be nearly as shocked as Geralt feels, watching his friend speak a language apparently dead to most humans.

Sixteen years later - an impossibly long time - Geralt walks from the ruined mayoral house and back towards the army encampment to find Jaskier and Chireadan lost in an intense game of Gwent. Jaskier loses the hand, tosses his cards onto the table, and swears at Chireadan in perfect Elder. When he spots Geralt, he swears at _him_ too, and leaves the tent. The elven man begins to clear away the cards, and gives Geralt a knowing look that he can’t quite read.

Geralt doesn’t see Jaskier again for another four months. When they meet again - a chance encounter on the road - Geralt once again asks Jaskier how he knows Elder. And once again, Jaskier dismisses him. “Must have been at the Academy,” he says.

Some time later, they run into Yen. Rather - they seek her out. There’s a curse that needs breaking, and she’s the first mage they find. She mutters a spell, and afterwards, Jaskier asks - “ _Midaëte?_ Midsummer? That’s only a week away, that’s no time at all!”

She looks at him, her perfect brow crinkling with curiosity. “You speak Elder,” she says. It’s not a question.

Jaskier just shrugs again.

That evening, after Jaskier has fallen asleep, she turns to Geralt.

“Xenoglossy,” she says. “Being able to speak a language you shouldn’t… how long has he been able to do it?”

Geralt thinks. “For as long as I’ve known him. Nearly twenty years.”

“Hmm,” Yen is picking up Geralt’s poor linguistic habits. “He slipped into magic long before he met you, then.” She swirls her cup, examining the wine inside with a critical eye. “Have you ever considered,” she says, finally, “that your bard might not be entirely human?”

Geralt blinks. “He’s not my bard.”

Yennefer laughs. “I think,” she says, “that’s not the problem you ought to be focusing on.”


End file.
